Today we’d like to introduce you to Ehow Chen.
Hi Ehow, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My food blog is a culmination of many facets of my life. I was raised in a restaurant as my mom worked long hours. My dad loved taking me to places to share his favorite dishes ever since I was a toddler. The world of food opened up for me during graduate school in Chicago, where I experienced new cuisines around town whenever I wasn’t working on a science experiment.
During COVID, I discussed starting a new hobby with my therapist. I mentioned that my friends would frequently ask me for restaurant recommendations. Coupled with what I saw as a sudden rise in new restaurants, food carts, and pop-ups, this led to create my food blog: to share my experiences with fellow locals to support eateries around the city. I especially wanted to focus on smaller businesses from marginalized and underrepresented communities as I consider myself a product of said communities.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The hardest part of starting anything new is getting started. Having any content shared on a completely new account on Instagram was difficult at first. I also had to learn how to take proper photos and apply basic principles of angles, lighting, and staging. (And let’s not talk about making video content.) Fortunately through all of this, I have made many new friends that I can call my found family and that alone makes the experience worth it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My “work” is pretty straightforward: I share content on my Instagram account about local eateries in the Portland Metro area, focusing on smaller businesses and those from marginalized or underrepresented communities. I also chronicle my travels and share what I eat in other parts of the country and abroad.
What sets me apart is my “everyday” nature when it comes to my content creation. I do not monetize my content and I post most everything I eat when I am out. I am proud whenever I hear from small business owners and they are happy I visited and want to share the content I happen to make for them.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I have learned that it is easy enough to eat at the trendiest places, but it is more important to be a regular at your favorite spots. Support your local businesses, friends.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ehow.eats
